The analytical commentary by Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, was written for the New Europe Center following the results of the forum “Asian Strategy in Action. The role of Ukrainian-Japanese cooperation”.

PDF-version of the comment is available here.

“Japan possesses a certain level of economic, technological, and military power, but it is not a major power. In an international situation which is mainly defined by major powers game, cooperation with other countries is essential for Japan to defend itself, maintain regional stability, and protect the rule-based international order. Among other things, the Japan-U.S. alliance is the foundation of Japan’s diplomacy and security. Among other things, the Japan-U.S. alliance is the foundation of Japan’s diplomacy and security.

However, the national interest of Japan is not completely same as it of the U.S. Furthermore, there are some gaps or differences about the situation awareness, decision making process and commanding line of military forces between Japan and the U.S. Japan is always trying to fill those gaps. As my understanding, these kinds of situation in Japan can be seen in many European countries, to a greater or lesser extent.”